As suggested by Pitmaster, I am trying to write something on an ongoing basis.
I recently read a story titled "11 Exceptional Women of 2011" in a small local publication here in Centre County ( http://centrecountygazette.com/index104.htm ) called The Centre County Gazettte. Seemed like an excellent opportunity to pass along the story of Mother Betherick. This is the submission:
QuoteRecently you published a series on "11 Exceptional Women of 2011".
Those stories prompted me to pass along the following story about one of the Exceptional Women of our Country's founding. This topic is extremely relevant with Independence Day coming up.
I heard about this exceptional woman at an Appleseed event sponsored by the Revolutionary War Veterans Association. This story is found in the mesmerizing book "Paul Revere's Ride" by Dr. David Hackett Fischer.
The first Woman will be Mother Batherick. Her story begins after a cunningly laid trap by "a party of New England men" against some British ammunition wagons. After the rout, the surviving British troops ran away, smack dab into Mother Batherick.
Mother Batherick was "so impoverished that she was digging a few weeds from a vacant field for something green to eat." She "may have been poor in material things, but she was rich in the spirit."
"The panic-stricken British troops surrendered to her, and begged her protection. She led them to the house of militia captain Ephraim Frost." Upon delivering her captives, she said,"If you ever live to get back, you tell King George that an old woman took six of his grenadiers prisoner."
After this incident, English critics were heard to say, "If one old Yankee woman can take six grenadiers, how many soldiers will it require to conquer America?"
This is only one example of the exceptional women of our Nation's founding.
Cork
http://centrecountygazette.com/index104.htm
http://www.appleseedinfo.org/
P.S. They have a limit on submission lengths too.